Sierra County Sheriff's Helicopter Crew Lifts Three Hikers From Sierra Buttes

Three hikers were lifted from a steep ridge in the Sierra Buttes on Sunday after a satellite distress signal prompted a multi-agency rescue operation. The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office coordinated the effort, which involved a helicopter hoist to move the group from the rugged terrain to a safe landing zone.

Officials received the initial alert around 2:30 p.m. when a Garmin inReach device sent an SOS signal to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The sheriff’s office immediately launched a search and rescue response, calling in the Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Mountain Rescue Team and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office’s RAVEN helicopter crew.

Upon locating the three individuals near a fire lookout tower just south of the mountain’s summit, a member of the rescue team was lowered from the aircraft to reach them. The group was then hoisted off the mountainside and transported to a landing area where Sierra County deputies were waiting to receive them. The agency stated that the difficult terrain and hazardous location made the aerial hoist necessary.

The Sierra Buttes rise above the North Yuba River canyon, with a summit elevation of approximately 8,600 feet, according to the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Authorities did not disclose how the hikers became stranded or whether any of them sustained injuries during the incident. The sheriff’s office credited the involved teams for their coordination and professionalism in completing the rescue.

Social media users praised the RAVEN helicopter unit and the emergency crews for their response. One commenter noted that the use of the RAVEN team demonstrated its value to the region, while others expressed gratitude for the skill and knowledge displayed by the rescue personnel. The successful extraction added to a string of high-altitude rescues in Northern California earlier this month.

Earlier in the month, a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman from Salt Lake City were pulled from Mount Shasta after being trapped between cliffs for 36 hours. Both were uninjured, authorities confirmed. Last week, a 39-year-old man from Florida was flown to a hospital after falling through a snow bridge on the Whitney Glacier and suffering a severe leg injury. Crews carried him to a landing zone after bad weather delayed an earlier aerial extraction, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported.